About site planning

The term site can refer either to a Web site or to a local storage location for the documents belonging to a Web site. The usual way to set up a site is to create a folder on your local disk that contains all the files for your site, and to create and edit documents within that folder. You then periodically copy those files to a Web server that allows other people to view the site. This approach is better than creating and editing files on the live Web site itself, because it allows you to test changes in the local site before making them publicly viewable, and then to make a set of changes to the live site all at once instead of one at a time.
 
Planning site structure

Organizing your site carefully from the start can save you time later on. If you start creating documents without thinking about where in your folder hierarchy they should go, you may end up with a huge, unwieldy folder full of files, or with related files scattered through a half-dozen similarly named folders.

Break down your site into categories. Put related pages into the same folder; for example, your company press releases, contact information, and job postings might all go in one folder, and your online catalog pages in another folder. Use subfolders where necessary.

Decide where to put items such as images and sound files. It's convenient to place all your images, for example, in one location, so that when you want to insert an image into a page you know where to find it. Designers sometimes place all of the non-HTML items to be used on a site in a folder called Assets. That folder may contain other folders—for example, an Images folder, a Shockwave folder, and a Sound folder. Or you might have a separate Assets folder for each group of related pages on your site, if there aren't many assets shared among such groups.

Use the same structure for local and remote sites. Your local site and your remote Web site should have exactly the same structure. If you create a local site using Dreamweaver and then upload everything to the remote site, Dreamweaver ensures that the local structure is precisely duplicated in the remote site.
 
Planning site navigation

Another area where planning pays off is navigation. As you design your site, think about the experience you want your visitors to have.

"You are here." It should always be easy for visitors to figure out where in your site they are, and how to return to your top-level page.

Searching and indexes. It should be easy for visitors to find any information they want.

Feedback. Provide a way for visitors to contact the webmaster (if appropriate) if something is wrong with the site, and to contact other relevant people associated with the company or the site.